companionship
by BlueFairyKino
Summary: and the king gathered up followers, ones who believed in his cause, and though he both gained and lost, he never once chose to abandon his duties. (Driver!Niall AU, of the emperor obtaining his Blades, one by one.)


They were getting the hang of things. They could easily slip in and out of the castle by now, and Niall had improved tremendously in regards to using a sword and Arts.

But then, both he and his Blade came a realization. A very glaring issue with what they had planned.

Aegaeon.

"People will _recognize_ you." Niall bit his lip. "My disguise works fine, but _you_ stand out. Everyone knows what you look like, and if we try to help people directly, then-"

"Your Majesty, I understand your concerns, but if you wish to think clearly, you _must_ calm down first." A beat. "For starters, you can stop pacing so rapidly."

Niall froze, realizing that he was much farther away from his previous position beside the throne than he'd thought he was, and quickly rushed back to his Blade.

Aegaeon continued. "The solution is simple, you know."

"In theory, yes, but Core Crystals aren't exactly common." Especially considering the recent Torna attacks on all the ships transporting them. Any ones available were being carefully guarded.

If he came as his disguised self, he wouldn't be able to even sneak in. If he tried to use his power as emperor to obtain one, he'd have to offer an explanation.

Both would go badly, in different ways.

The only other option was to try and find one out in the wilds, but that was even more rare, and came with its own amount of dangers. But really, he had no choice _but_ to go with that option, but it'd probably turn out fruitle-

" _Your Majesty_."

Niall sighed, once again walking back to the throne, sitting himself down to prevent any further pacing.

"My apologies, Aegaeon, I'm just...I'm _restless_."

"Understandably so." Aegaeon knew all too well how much his Driver wanted to help his people. In a way, he resented how well the both of them were known.

The Blade gently placed a hand on Niall's shoulder, offering him a gentle, patient smile. "For now, we'll simply go out and do what we always do. Even simply taking care of a few monsters helps the people greatly."

"...you're right. Thank you, Aegaeon."

* * *

They had decided to go towards the lower parts of the titan. They avoided the docks, not wanting to risk anything, but instead towards the area north of it.

They, of course had expected monsters.

They had not expected to see a load of boxes washed up on the shore, the edges of the Cloud Sea occasionally grazing them, as if attempting to pull them back in.

Curiousity overwhelmed Niall, and he and Aegaeon quickly moved to investigate.

"An accident, perhaps?" Aegaeon leaned down, trying to find any hint as to where the boxes came from. "Or an attack from a monster? Or perhaps..."

He didn't need to finish to put out the possibility of this being the work of someone with ill intent.

As Niall began looking through the mess, something got caught in the corner of his eye. Something he'd have brushed off, if not for what he and Aegaeon were discussing earlier that day.

A familiar, soft blue glow, peeking out from a pile of rubbish. And after clearing away it all...his suspicions were confirmed.

"Aegaeon, look!"

His Blade glanced over, only to full turn once he realized what Niall had found.

"Perhaps this is the reason why these have turned up here in the first place..."

"Who knows...it seemed well hidden."

...both of them knew what was coming. Yet even still, when Niall reached out to take the Core Crystal, he hesistated a little.

What would the Blade inside be like? Would they even be able to work together?

He was lost in thought until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced up at Aegaeon, who lightly nodded.

...his mind was made up.

Niall reached out, picked up the crystal, and concentrated.

Memories flooded back as he felt the familiar rush of ether. When he had awakened Aegaeon, he had, at first, felt like he was drowning. Like everything in the room was nothing but water, slowly dragging him down the depths. But then it had lessened, felt more weightless, and he had been able to breath. It had been less like he was helplessly sinking, and more like the water was cradling him, protecting him.

But this...this was much, much different.

There was a blinding light, forcing Niall to squeeze his eyes shut. He could still feel the rays of light on him, not quite like the burning of fire, but close enough.

But like back then, it soon lessened. Began to feel more like he was under a gentle light, one meant to light the way through a dark place rather than blind whoever even glanced at it.

And then the light softened, and Niall opened his eyes, and was greeted by black feathers.

A boy stood before him, hair bright like the sun, outfit almost just as bright. A scarf (cape?) of black feathers was wrapped around his neck, waving as if a nonexistant wind was pushing it around. Two swords sat on his back, one dark and the other light. The crystal sat imbedded in his chest, resembling the shape of a bird in flight.

His eyes opened, and Niall was greeted by ones that resembled his own. Wide and blue.

The new Blade looked around in confusion for a moment, then turned to the boy. "Huh...different from what I likely expected, but...I'm guessing you're my new Driver?"

Niall was quickly brought out of his stupor. "A-Ah, yes. That is me. I am Niall Ardanach."

The Blade nodded, a light smirk on his face, though it quickly turned to a bright smile. "Good to meet you, Niall! The name's Corvin!" He then tilted his head. "Sooooo...am I gonna be allowed to see my Driver's face, or does that need to remain a mystery?"

...right, the mask and cloak. He didn't want to risk the cloak revealing him fully, so Niall simply decided to take off the mask.

"Yeah, that's more like it. Any reason for that whole getup, by the by?"

 _Please let this not be awkward._

"Well..."

* * *

Needless to say, Corvin was surprised when he realized that his new driver was royalty, let alone the emperor of Mor Ardain. He'd started to try and be a bit more formal, but Niall had quickly denied all of that.

He treated his Blades with respect, yes, and he wanted that in return, but he didn't want them to be _**overly**_ formal with him.

It just...wasn't entirely his thing.

"It's nuts, though." Corvin exclaimed as they climbed through the window into Niall's room. "I figured someone in your position would be too busy with royal stuff to go out and rumage through washed-up boxes."

"There is a reason we choose to go out at night, and in those garbs." Aegaeon leaned against the wall. "Who knows how the people would react if they found out about all of that?"

"Good point." He turned to Niall. "So, I'm assuming I should stay out of sight, then?"

"Mostly, yes. There are a few others here who are aware of this, but to be safe, you should only be seen around me when I am in that outfit." As much as Niall would love to introduce Morag and Brighid to Corvin, he just _couldn't_ let them know what he had been up to.

"Right, so how 'bout this." With a smile, Corvin continued. "I'll keep eyes and ears open for stuff that might be going on, and we can take care of it together."

Niall smiled at the thought. "Of course. I look forward to working with you, Corvin."

And though he didn't notice it, Aegaeon smiled too, happy that his Driver had found someone who clearly had the same desire to protect that he did.

He could trust Corvin to watch over Niall whenever he could not.


End file.
